BEIJING — Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, stressed the important role of the Constitution.

“No organization or individual has the privilege to overstep the Constitution or the law. Any conduct that goes against the Constitution or the law must be punished,” Xi said on Feb 24 when presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Xi stressed the significant role of the Constitution in securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, embarking on a journey to fully build a modern socialist China and realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.

China should make full use of the Constitution’s important function in modernizing China’s system and capacity for governance and strengthening the Party’s long-term governance capacity, said Xi.

China should stick to the organic unity of Party leadership, the running of the country by the people, and law-based governance, and should strengthen oversight to ensure compliance with the Constitution, Xi said.

He also required all of China’s endeavors to follow the principle of law-based and Constitution-based governance in order to improve the implementation of the Constitution.

The People’s Republic of China enacted its first Constitution in 1954. In 1982, the fifth National People’s Congress adopted the present Constitution, which underwent four amendments in 1988, 1993, 1999 and 2004.

Xi said the development of the Constitution has showed that establishing and implementing the Constitution were essential to building a strong and prosperous country.

The current Constitution has been developed and improved based on the successful experience of China’s socialist revolution, construction and reform, said Xi.

Xi also said history has demonstrated that only under the CPC’s leadership can there be a Constitution that gives full expression to the will of the people.

The CPC highly values the important role of the Constitution in all aspects of governance, safeguards its authority and promotes its development, said Xi.

He called for efforts to further study the Constitution, promote its spirit and popularize the knowledge of the Constitution.